🔗 Share this article

New South Wales police have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and served two driving violation citations for alleged negligent driving after a swarm of electric bicycle users converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of around 40 people operating e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the bridge’s main deck, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly then turned around and rode through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"This had a risk of people to be injured and killed," stated a senior police official the officer on the following day.

Police said they did not immediately pursue the group due to concerns for public safety but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

Later in the week, police stated they had issued the American online personality known as Sur Ronster, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a penalty of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. They added that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer is said to have over 3.4 million subscribers on YouTube and over 1.2m on the social media app.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure gave comments to a local publication this week after the incident gained traction on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was among the safest gatherings I’ve ever seen," he said. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to come here respecting the rules and standards of Sydney. So when I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a group ride, it was just to greet people near the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we reverse, essentially, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of e-bikes on streets across the country has sparked growing calls for stricter rules. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," he said. "We must ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are given the powers to take strong action, to confiscate them, to crush them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in the previous year. But, in the initial half of 2025, that number jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.